snow white and the huntsman

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I’m sure you all felt the same way when you saw the recently-released Mowgli trailer: ‘Haven’t I seen this before… Rather recently?’

The short answer is ‘yes’: The Jungle Book (2016) and Mowgli (2018)

The live-action version of The Jungle Book was released only two years ago, which was received rather successfully. So why make another? Basically, the difference is that Mowgli was made by Warner Brothers Studios whereas The Jungle Book was made by Disney Studios. (Thanks to Reece for the tip off about this!)

After looking into it, this ‘twin movie phenomena’ has been documented before here and here. It’s films with two identical plots that are released at around the same time.

For the most part, these twinned films had always merged into one for me, so I’d never properly realised the extent of the phenomena.

Mirror Mirror (2012) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
I remember when both of these films came out. While Mirror Mirror is more of a comedy and Snow White and the Huntsman is more of an action, they’re both closely based on the 1937 Disney animation Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Antz (1998) and A Bug’s Life (1998)
I was always A Bug’s Life fan, and didn’t watch Antz for yonks. But I have to admit, there are some pretty obvious similarities.

Capote (2005) and Infamous (2006)
I haven’t seen Infamous before, but I can say that Philip Seymour Hoffman does a brilliant job of depicting Truman Capote. Based on true events, Capote is writing a book called In Cold Blood about the murder of a Kansas family but he soon forms a relationship with one of the killers.

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The Prestige (2006) and The Illusionist (2006)
Both of these films are about magicians back in the day. The main difference is that The Prestige is beyond brilliant (starring David Bowie), and The Illusionist is shallow. Nice try, but you haven’t fooled me.

No Strings Attached (2011) and Friends with Benefits (2011)
Both are about a relationship between two beautiful single people who want all the fun but none of the seriousness. Strangely, Ashton Kutcher from No Strings Attached married Mila Kunis from Friends with Benefits by 2015.

Hercules (2014) and The Legend of Hercules (2014)
Pretty self-explanatory, so I can’t imagine why we’d need more than one of these films about Hercules. Although, I reckon Dwayne Johnson makes a far better Hercules than the Jude Law lookalike, Kellan Lutz. (Weirdly, Hercules has a Jude Law lookalike cast too! His name is Rufus Sewell.)

Jobs (2013) and Steve Jobs (2015)
I haven’t watched either, but I’d 100% choose Steve Jobs over Jobs. Ashton Kutcher doesn’t come across as intimidating enough to be the founder of Apple.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and White House Down (2013)
Essentially they’re both about terrorist attacks on the White House. I’ve seen White House Down, but all I remember is explosions and running around. I’m sure Olympus Has Fallen is basically the same deal but with Morgan Freeman’s brilliant voice.

Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Based upon Snow White by Brothers Grimm
Released: June 2012
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin
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I don’t think you can really read too much into this film. At the end of the day it is based on a simple fairytale, but it is an action-packed and exciting take on it. Quite a bit of violence, which was more realistic than I thought it would be, with battle scenes that were very captivating.

I know everyone, including myself, went to see it secretly to criticise Kristen Stewart’s performance. It wasn’t bad, but it was obvious that she was not the ideal Snow White. She had very little dialogue, and when she did speak, her typically emotionless facials were replaced by concentration, probably focussing on her English accent.

I have to say, I thought Snow White would have been more feminine and smiley… I don’t know if she wasn’t because of Stewart’s portrayal of her, or because the makers wanted to portray a more dark and gothic version of Snow White.

This kind of Snow White reminded me of Katniss from The Hunger Games – a strong, feminine warrior. But every production company has got to make their money somehow, right? And what better way than to use the Twilight star.

I thought they would choose a more unknown actress for Snow White (like Tim Burton did for the protagonist in Alice In Wonderland). Turned out I was right, this was considered at the beginning. I hadn’t heard of Felicity Jones before the likes of Cemetery Junction, but after seeing this photo of her… wouldn’t it have been an no-brainer to cast her!?

Queen

The evil stepmother/Queen played by Charlize Theron was another casting decision I don’t think was a bad choice exactly… But she was a tad theatrical at the beginning, which don’t get me wrong, is probably appropriate. But it was almost too much.

It reminded me of Anne Hathaway’s sickly sweet performance as the White Queen in Burton’s Alice In Wonderland.

The seven dwarves were great. Although I do wish their names were like the well-known Disney version (Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Happy, Bashful and Grumpy, which became Beith, Coll, Duir, Gort, Muir, Nion, and Quert).

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However, it did dawn on me during the film that the genre of this interpretation is totally different, therefore the less comedic angle was adopted.

Having been so critical so far, I have to say that I did enjoy this film. The visual effects were incredible. The Mirror Man leaked out of the mirror like metallic silk… It was solid yet liquid, which was super cool.

The dark forest was pretty awesome too which was convincingly contrasted with the sanctuary where the dwarves lived.

This is a film worth seeing. The stunts (and stunt horses) were fantastic, the animation was insane and yet, the original Snow White story was still there.

My expectations of a flailing and weak Snow White with a strong love story was totally not what the film was. It is The Hunger Games meets Alice In Wonderland (2010) with strong characters, violence and action. A fairytale for the modern tween.

Jodie’s rating: 6.5/10

PS: I can’t help but say that if you look closely at the close ups of Kristen riding the grey horse bareback, you can tell she is sitting in a saddle with her dress draped over it.
PP.SS: As my friend mentioned to me during the movie, I was also disappointed that the dwarves were not riding miniature horses.

Tag Archives: snow white and the huntsman

Mowgli and The Jungle Book: The Twin Movie Phenomenon

Snow White and the Huntsman